Diagonals

The idea here was to take a number of images which use diagonals strongly.

P186 : f11 @ 1/400 21mm ISO 200



Taken at an angle, the diagonal effect is enhanced by repetition

P187: f11@ 1/400 31mm ISO 200

P188: f8 @ 1/1250 9mm ISO 800

Diagonals in abstract form created by looking upwards at an angle towards the roof of this abandoned building. 

P189: f5 @ 1/400 13mm ISO 800

Shattered shop window glass creating diagonals in an abstract pattern. 

New Documentary Forms - Tate Modern

This exhibition at Tate Modern looked at ways five contemporary artists have used the camera 'to explore, extend and question photography as a documentary medium. I had never seen any work by Boris Mitchailov, Mitch Epstein, Luc Delahaye, Akram Zaatari and Guy Tillim before so was interested to see how their work  would present itself.

I was drawn to Mitch Epstein's 'Amos Coal Power Plant, Raymond, West Virginia' part of his American Power series as I could relate its composition to recent work on balance. Looking at the image, I thought the juxta position of the power station and the house produced an interesting balance effect drawing the eye firmly to the domination of the power station in the lives of the people who lived so close to it.

In looking at a selection of pictures from Guy Tillllim's ' Congo Democatic Series' , one particular image drew my eye i.e. a photograph showing a presidential candidate entering a stadium flanked by his bodyguard. The composition was very powerful - a sloping horizon gave the image momentum, the head and shoulders of the candidate right in the centre of the frame indicating sheer power by the bulk of his frame and a watchful bodyguard behind him looking out at the viewer at an angle that emphasised his wariness.

I also was intrigued by Boris Mikhailov's use of colour in his series of photographs charting the politics of everyday life in the Ukraine during the Soviet era and its aftermath.In 'Red' ( 1968- 75) he uses the colour red  as a symbolic reminder of the Soviet regime ..it appears often as the sole colourin a photograph -  sometimes a small splash of colour but somehow omni present. In 'At Dusk' he used a cobalt wash to hand paint each image ...a literal and symbolic representation of Ukraine's twilight.

Horizontal and vertical lines

The aim of this exercise was to find some of the different ways in which horizontal and vertical lines appear to the eye and camera.

Horizontal lines

P178: f14 @ 1/160 44mm ISO 200



The line here is created by a row of painted characters the same distance from the camera. Colour in this piece of street graffitti was replaced by black and white to enhance the detail in the image.

P179: f14 @ 1/160 44mm ISO 200 

Linked floats produced the horizontal line here.

P180 : f9 @ 1/250 51mm ISO 200

In this image the shape of these three stacked canoes gives a firm horizontal line.    

P181 : F 

The trees running across the horizon in this image form a strong horizontal line emphaisised by the field of linseed in front. 



Vertical lines

P182: f11 @ 1/125 48mm ISO 200

The shape of this shell set against the vertical railings produces a strong vertical line.

P183: f8 @ 1/1600 11mm ISO 800

The vertical line in this image comes from the path stretching down ahead of the camera into the distance.

P184: f11 @ 1/320  31mm ISO 200

I think the vertical lines here come from the rows of windows stretching upwards to the sky. Definitely a dynamic sense of of upward movement.

P185: f8 @ 1/320 13mm ISO 200

The vertical line of this Tate banner has the vertical enhanced by the taut stretching of the material and the top of St Paul's cupola pointing skyward parallel to the banner.

Multiple points

For this exercise I set up a still life outside using pieces of blue slate against a mottled concrete background. Each piece of slate was placed in the frame in turn and a photograph taken each time. Occasionally I adjusted a piece after placing it in the composition after seeing that in its first position it did not work well with the grouping.  

P166: f25 @ 1/3 sec 39mm ISO 200

P167:f25 @ 1/3 sec 39mm ISO 200

P168: f25 @ 1/3sec 39mm ISO 200

P169: f25 @  1/3 sec 39mm ISO 200

P170: f25 @ 1/3sec 39mm ISO 200

P171: f25 @ 1/2 sec 39mm ISO 200

P172: f25 @ 1/2 sec 39mm ISO 200

P173: f25 @ 1/2 sec 39mm ISO 200



P174: f25 @ 1/2 sec 39mm ISO 200

Lastly, I drew a sketch of P174 to indicate the'lines' that relate the objects and the basic shapes that they formed : 

The relationship between points

I found it quite tricky to find a suitable location which would give me two points that I could fit in a frame but which were well separated. Boats at Dell Quay were the best that I could rustle up here.

P158: f25 @ 1/30 55mm ISO 200

In the above image the red boat comes over as the stronger point ...I think because it is slightly larger in the image than the black and white boat and visually is more arresting to the eye due to its directional stance.

P159: f25 @ 1/30 70mm ISO 200

Again, in P159 the red yacht is the stronger point ...due mainly to being closer to the viewer and slightly larger in bulk than the fishing boat. The eye is drawn from yacht to fishing boat.

P160: f25 @ 1/30 70mm ISO 200

This time the two points are slightly further into the centre of the image. The eye moves between the two points more than in the two earlier images and the red yacht is only just the stronger point ( due to bulk )..there really is not a great deal to chose between the two here.

Positioning a point

This exercise involved experimenting with different positions in which a single point can be placed in the frame.

P155: f14 @1/125 55mm ISO 200

I placed the subject off centre to the right to emphasize the directional stance of the statue.

P156 : f14 @ 1/125 55mm ISO 200 

 In P156 I moved the subject over to the left in the direction of the shadow..I'm not sure whether this works that well, possibly due to the distraction of the shadow at the top right. I tried cropping the image to resolve this :

P177      

Cropping brings the subject into the centre of the image and reduces the sense of movement.

P157 : f14 @ 1/125 88mm ISO 200

In P 157 I wanted to see how the image would work if the subject was placed right at the edge of the frame using a telephoto lens to achieve this. It doesn't work as well in my view leaving the image unbalanced and reducing the sense of movement.

Assignment 1 : Response to Tutor's report

I found my tutor's feedback on each image and his suggestions of how better to compose a picture through cropping e.g. low / straight / diagonal ; using levels e.g. straight and using slightly increased depth of field were very useful. 
I also found his comments re how to present material for assessment useful as it was very much a stab in the dark this time despite the existing OCA instructions.

As a follow up, I have decided to have a go at the images as suggested to see how the suggestions work. The results are below:

Low

The aim here was to give the original composition a tighter and more focused feel by cropping.

P 139  Original image 

P162 : Cropped version 1

P163 : Cropped version 2

P163 works much better as a composition than the original.

Straight

P 136 : Orignal version

I followed the suggestions here to crop the composition and also try to improve the quality of light, brightness, and colour with a 'levels' adjustment. 

 

P164 : Cropped version

P164 : Cropped version 4  + light adjustment

P164  Is a more tightly cropped version with the light adjusted using Photoshop. The result produces a better image than the original.

P165 : Cropped version 3 + light, brightness and contrast adjustment

In P165 I've adjusted the cropping and also the level of brightness and contrast....think this works better than P164.

Diagonal

The suggestion here was to see whether the composition would work better if cropping were to be used to capture a complete floor at top and bottom :  

P146 : Original version

P175 : Cropped version 1

P176: Cropped version 2

Looking at the cropped versions, I feel that maybe P176 works slightly better for me ..mainly as it repeats the diagonal ...given the angle at which the original image was shot, it proved difficult to crop and straighten the image..